Stavropol Krai

The engine failed in flight. The aircraft lost height, struck power cables and crashed in an open field. There were no casualties.

Crashed in unknown circumstances. Occupant fate unknown.

At the end of the afternoon, following uneventful spraying missions, the crew decided to embark an illegal passenger, an employee from a local state farm. While flying at low height, the pilot-in-command initiated a turn when the aircraft stalled and crashed, bursting into flames. The passenger was injured and both pilots were killed.

Shortly after takeoff, the single engine airplane lost speed and crashed. Occupant fate unknown.

The crew was engaged in a crop spraying mission on behalf of the 'Lenin' kolkhoz in Novoaleksandrovsk. After few circuits were completed in the morning, the single engine airplane was flying on a distance of 800 meters at a height of about 40 meters when it nosed down and crashed in flames in an open field. The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were killed.

On final approach to Mineralnye Vody Airport by night, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. At a speed of 290 km/h, flaps were deployed at an angle of 30°, causing the airspeed to drop to 260 km/h. At a distance of 1,500 metres from the runway threshold, the captain decided to initiate a go-around as he was unable to establish a visual contact with the runway. During initial climb, at an altitude of about 90 metres, the airplane entered a right turn then rolled to the right at an angle of 15-30° and adopted a critical angle of attack of 15-18°. The tail stall and the airplane crashed in flames 2 km south of the airport. A crew member and 76 passengers were killed while 21 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

While taking off from a dusty terrain, the visibility was very limited due to dust when the airplane struck a car and crashed. There were no casualties.

On final approach to Mineralnye Vody Airport, while at a height of 200 meters, reverse thrust was unintentionally applied. The aircraft lost height and crash-landed in a field some 2 km short of runway 12 threshold, near the suburb of Kangly. All 4 crew and 43 passengers escaped unhurt.

On the leg from Kizlyar to Stavropol of a positioning flight from Baku to Kharkov for overhaul, the crew encountered below-minima weather conditions (low clouds and snowfall). He failed to return and decided to continue in such conditions when the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located northwest of Dubovka (Aleksandrovskoye district of the Stavropol region). A pilot and the passenger (an aircraft mechanic) were killed while the second pilot was seriously injured.

The airport of Mineralnye Vody was closed since three days due to poor weather in all the Caucasus region. Thus, many flights were cancelled and more than 500 passengers were blocked at Tbilisi Airport. In the afternoon of December 31, the airport of Mineralnye Vody was reopened to trafic and two IL-18 aircraft were chartered for the stranded passengers. The boarding process was disorganized and chaotic. Tickets were not checked and too many passengers boarded the plane. There were 84 passenger seats, so 26 passengers stood or sat on their luggage in the aisles as well as in the galley. The maximum rear centre of gravity was exceeded by 1%. Nevertheless, the flight to Mineralnye Vody was uneventful but on approach, weather conditions were still marginal with a visibility limited to 2 km, a cloud base at 120 meters, light rain and mist. On final approach to runway 12, at an altitude of 250 m and heading 117°, as the pilot-in-command was unable to locate the runway nor the approach lights, he decided to make a go around and increased power on all four engines. The crew turn right heading 188° but failed to gain height. Shortly later, the airplane struck obstacles and crashed in flames 3 km southwest of the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire and 32 occupants were killed, among them two crew members. All 87 other occupants were evacuated.